Home
by Insert Clever Potter Name Here
Summary: Twenty years after the war, Remus is ready to go home. AU Post DH One Shot


_**Just a little mini story that was bouncing around in my mind. Reviews are appreciated ;)**_

It may have been twenty years, Remus still remembered the night. He remembered the shock register on her face as she was disarmed, the fear as that green light raced for her- and finally, _acceptance-_ all in a time frame of about 30 seconds. She knew she couldn't dodge it, she knew she was going to die, and she accepted it. He knew he couldn't disarm Dolohov fast enough to save her, and was left with the sight of his young wife hitting the ground. He remembered vaguely what happened after that, he had been truly angry and blasted Dolohov with a spell he didn't even know that he knew. He remembered Voldemort calling for an hour of peace, of Harry's dead body and the shock that filled each of the Hogwarts fighters. And they still fought, every last one of them. And Harry won. This was where Remus had become confused. He had seen Harry's dead body, and not twenty minutes later, witnessed the final duel between Voldemort and Harry.

He spent the next twenty years watching. Watching Harry marry Ginny, Ron marry Hermione, the rest of the Weasleys marry, the kids he taught having kids of their own. All the while, protecting Teddy from everything. Heartbreak from girls, Remus' condition, everything that Teddy needed protecting from.

For fifteen years, starting when Teddy was five, Remus taught at Hogwarts. Each month, Slughorn provided Wolfsbane. Each month, McGonagall herself took his classes for three days, starting the day before full moon and giving Remus a day afterwards.

Eleven years after the war, Remus had been sitting at the table with other teachers when his son was Sorted. And he beamed with pride when Teddy was placed in Hufflepuff, like his mother and his namesake.

Three years after Teddy graduated and headed for the Office of Magical Law Enforcement, and Remus was unaware anything was wrong. He had gone through another full moon, as always. He felt more tired than usual, but never suspected anything. Two days past the full moon, and Remus still wasn't feeling right, and McGonagall continued to teach his classes. Until this morning.

She had entered his office, shocked to find he wasn't yet there. She hadn't heard from him yet, he hadn't been at breakfast in the Great Hall, she had assumed perhaps he was feeling better and was planning his lessons.

She walked to the door on the far end of the office, calling for him. No response, so she opened the door. He was in bed, terribly pale and trembling. "Remus?" McGonagall asked.

"Dora?" Came his response.

McGonagall was surprised, she hadn't heard Remus even mention Tonks since her death. "No, it's Minerva." McGonagall said, approaching him. She lay a hand on his forehead, which was warm to touch. "Remus, I'll get Hannah for you-"

She was stopped by Remus' grip on her wrist. She looked at him, puzzled. His eyes met hers, and McGonagall felt as if she was looking down at a twelve year old Remus after a particularly bad full moon.

"Remus, do you not want me to get you help?" McGonagall asked.

"I just want to go home."

McGonagall pulled her wand from beneath her robes, sending a silver tabby cat to the deputy headmaster, requesting that he gather all students in the Great Hall and announce that lessons were to be cancelled. A few moments later, she heard Neville's amplified voice spreading through the castle.

 _ **"All students are to report immediately to the Great Hall."**_

"Remus, I'll send for Hannah as well-"

"No."

"No?"

"I want to go home."

"Remus, you won't be leaving the castle, you're too ill-"

" _No,_ I want to go _home_."

McGonagall understood this time, and sat on the edge of the bed. She took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Then go home, Remus." She said quietly.

* * *

He was standing by the lake at Hogwarts, near the tree he had spent many days under when he was a student. The aging professor didn't feel like he had aged, and looking at his reflection in the surface of the lake, he looked a few years younger than he had been when he first met Harry on the train to Hogwarts.

"Remus." A voice behind him said. He turned to see a small group of people walking towards him. A woman with dark red hair, a man with untidy black hair and glasses, a man with a smirk and long dark hair, a woman with dark brown curls framing her face.

Sirius and James embraced him first, followed by a hug so tight from Lily that he would have been left barely able to breathe had he been able to do so.

"You're not too old now, are you?" The dark haired woman asked, throwing her arms around him. "We're practically the same age now-"

"I've missed you all, I've been waiting so long to see you all." Remus choked out when he released Tonks. "Dora, you'd be so proud of Teddy. Lily, James, Harry's a great man. Sirius, James Sirius is just like you. Can't stop causing trouble-"

"We never left any of you." Lily said, smiling. "And we've been waiting as well."

"Waiting?" Remus asked.

"For you to come home." James said, draping a hand over Remus' shoulders.


End file.
